


What If We Could

by crazyTXgradstudent



Category: Andrew Lincoln - Fandom, British Actor RPF, RPF - Fandom, Rick Grimes - Fandom, The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 04:25:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12646038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazyTXgradstudent/pseuds/crazyTXgradstudent
Summary: This has been bouncing around in my head forever, so here it is.No apologies, I do what I want haha!





	1. Chapter 1

It was SO. DAMN. HOT. 

I wiped the sweat off my forehead, wincing as some of it rolled into my eyes and started to burn.

“Damn it!” I stopped again, using my forearm to wipe my face. I couldn’t stop sweating. I was used to the humidity, given that I was from the Gulf Coast, but Jesus, this was annoying. With sweaty fingers, I readjusted my phone in it’s carrier, pushing it back up my bicep and tightened it. Only a few miles left and I could call it quits for the day. “Houston Heights” had just started playing as I made my way around the bend in the dense woods. I wiped my eyes once more, blinking a few times to rid myself of my own stinging sweat…and collided into a hard wall of heat.

“Shit!” I yelped as I fell down backwards and landed square on my ass.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” A man, clad in a hoodie and sunglasses, reached down to help me back up. The first thing I noticed was that accent. I assumed it was British, but I couldn’t be certain. I squinted up at him as he dragged me off the ground. The next thing I noticed was his beard. _Why would you have a beard in this heat?_ _And why was he wearing sunglasses?_ The sun was going down!

“It’s okay,” I grumbled as I clutched at my right breast.

“Are you alright? I am so incredibly sorry,” he apologized again, his accent way outta place here in Georgia.

“If I had boob implants you would have popped this one, but I’m okay,” I whined, rubbing my right breast again, but tempered it with a forced smile. “I’m fine, really.”

“I would say I could kiss it and make it better, but that would be very weird of me, wouldn’t it?” He chuckled as he pulled his sunglasses off, revealing incredibly blue eyes. I cocked my head at him, wondering if I knew him. He was so familiar…

“Yeah, that would be weird, no thanks. Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Depends,” his voice dropped an octave as he pulled his hoodie back, revealing a mess of very wet, very sweaty, dark, blonde curls. The beard, the sweaty curls, the blue eyes…

“Are you…?” My eyes widened as the recognition set in. He gave me a half-smile, confirming what I kinda already knew.

“Do you watch?”

“Every Sunday.” I clapped my hand over my mouth in awe. “Oh my god. Wow. You are really Andrew Lincoln. Holy shit.”

He pulled his hoodie back on, covering up again. “Please call me Andy.” He pointed up at his hood, “As for this, I’m trying to drop some weight, and also remain as incognito as possible.”

“Drop weight? You’re skinny enough as it is!” I spoke before I realized what I had said, and my cheeks reddened under his gaze.

“Thanks, I guess?” Andrew — _Andy_ —laughed, deepening the dimples in his bearded cheeks.

“Shit. Damn, really. Now I’m the one who’s sorry, I totally didn’t mean it like that.” Not knowing what else to do, I fiddled with my phone, and it was then that I realized what time it was. Damn. It was after 7. “Holy shit, I have to go!” I cringed, knowing I probably sounded like a sailor cursing up a storm.

“Wait, are you sure you’re alright?” Andy asked again, briefly touching my forearm with his hand.

“I’m fine. Just super late for… _this thing_ …a meeting that I have to go to.” I don’t know why I felt embarrassed to tell this man that I had a date with another man. I only knew this man from a tv show. I leaned down to tie my shoes a little tighter, all the while rubbing more sweat off my forehead. Andy stood above me, watching me.

“Will you be here tomorrow?” He suddenly asked, drawing my eyes up to him.

“Why?” I asked as I stood. “You planning on breaking my other boob?” I grinned at him, then giggled as I saw his cheeks go redder.

“That’s no usually what I do with boobs,” — _that word sounded ridiculous coming from him and his very proper accent, and I couldn’t help but giggle as he continued,_ —“but I would like to run with you. You have a good pace, and I need all the help I can get.”

It was my turn to get redder, and my mouth dropped open in shock. I stood there like an idiot, blinking back at him.

“Should I take that as a no, then?” Andy asked, clearly bemused by my lack of response.

“No. I mean, _not no_. You know what I mean, I mean that I’m not saying no, I’m saying don’t take it as a no, okay?” I stumbled over myself like a teenager, and Andy didn't even try to hide his amusement this time. Annoyed, I narrowed my eyes at him. “I meant, I’ll be here tomorrow, probably around the same time. Maybe a little earlier if you’d like to run together.”

“I’d like that very much,” Andy smiled again, and this time, I felt my knees go a little weak as he spoke. He was so much more handsome in person than he was on the show, and that accent only make it more so. _Jesus._ I swallowed deep in my throat, trying desperately to calm my nerves and slow my racing heartbeat. _Was this really happening??_

“So, I still don’t have a name, and I think it might be nice if I had your mobile number?” Andy was talking, and I was barely registering his words. I was stuck on how beautiful he was, how his voice made my stomach lurch just a bit with nervous butterflies. Christ almighty he was gorgeous. I finally snapped to when he waved a hand in front of my face, dragging me out of my thoughts.

“Hello? Anyone home?” He was grinning again, his eyes playfully crinkling at the corners.

“Oh my god I am so sorry!” I squeaked out. “I was just thinking about…I was…you know what, never mind. We should exchange numbers, what do you think?”

Andy full on-laughed, clearly entertained by me. I could only turn another shade of red as I flushed anew.

“That is an excellent idea,”—he winked at me, —“too bad I didn’t think of it myself.”

“Oh god, did you say that already?” I blanched, causing him to laugh even more. “You did, didn’t you?”

“I did, but it’s okay. You said you needed to be somewhere soon, right?” Andy looked down at his cellphone. “How about I walk you to your car, and we can exchange numbers, and then you can get off to wherever it is you’re supposed to be? I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”

“You are no bother, really!” I rushed out, clearly losing my mind. I had a date in about 45 minutes, and there was no way I was going to make it on time. Right now, I didn’t even care about the date, truth be told.

“Still, I do need to get back to my apartment, get ready for tomorrow,” Andy smiled gently, forcing me back into reality.

“Right, right, okay. My car’s this way,” I pointed off towards the parking area. We walked back in comfortable silence, only making small talk as we went. Andy was here filming for the show of course, and I was here working on my PhD program at Emory. When we finally made it back to my car, I was surprised at how disappointed I was for our time to be over with. I now had about 30 minutes to get home, get cleaned up, and be ready for my date. I wondered if I would be a completely horrible person if I just called Sean up and told him never mind?

“This you?” Andy asked as I stopped before my small compact car.

“Broke PhD student, you know?” I shrugged. Andy laughed as he pulled his phone out again.

“Alright, you give me yours, and then I’ll text you for tomorrow, yeah?” Andy leaned towards me, whispering in a teasing tone. “And your name. Don't forget that part.”

“Okay,” I replied. I quickly read my number off, and a few seconds later, I received a text from Andy. On my phone. Holy shit. I looked up at him to find him looking down at me with that smile of his.

“I should go,” I whispered breathlessly.

“You should,” Andy agreed. “After you tell me your name.”

“Shit. It’s Casey, sorry. Casey Aucoin.”

“Casey,” Andy repeated, and I nearly died at the way my name rolled off his lips. It almost sounded like “Cassie”, the very British way he said it. _Jesus._

“Tomorrow. Same time,” I nodded back, and then climbed into my car. 

I drove away, my mind reeling with what just happened...


	2. Chapter 2

   

 

Later that evening, I couldn’t even concentrate on whatever the hell it was Sean was talking about. Poor guy. I had been about 45 minutes late in meeting him, and now that I was here, I couldn’t even pay any attention to him.

“Case? You there?” Sean asked as he pointedly stared at me as I tapped away at my phone.  

“Uhh yes, sorry. I am really sorry, I think I’m just too tired, you know? That run, the heat took it out of me I think,” I lied, knowing exactly why I was not interested. I couldn’t stop thinking about Andy, and how I had not only met him, but how he wanted to meet me tomorrow. I had literally never been more excited to run in my entire life.  And now that I knew he had my number, I was compulsively checking my phone like every 5 minutes. 

“You seem super distracted,” Sean surmised, his beer lifted to his lips as he took a sip. “Like you’d rather be somewhere else.”

“No, crazy. I’m just tired,” I lied again. I didn’t want to be an asshole to Sean, not when he’d been so nice. We were at **_Nic and Norman’s_** , one of my recent favorite restaurants since I’d arrived in Senoia. I’d only been here about a month, and I was bummed that I hadn’t found this place sooner. However, tonight it just didn’t hold the same appeal. I fiddled with my fork, willing the night to be over with and the day to begin tomorrow.  Go to class, write on my dissertation, and get back to my run. And Andy.  

Some noise up front drew our attention, and we both looked to see what was happening.

"Well, fuck," I groaned under my breath.  

Just when I thought things couldn’t get more awkward, they did. Surer than shit, it was Andy.

_And Norman Reedus._

**_Right here in this fucking restaurant._ **

“Holy shit, it’s them!” Sean scooted his chair back excitedly. “Daryl and Rick! Let’s go get a pic! Come on, Casey!”

“Nah, I’m good, you go ahead,” I hedged uncomfortably. Last thing I needed was for Andy to see me here, out on a date with Sean. Sean rolled his eyes at me in annoyance.

“Are you serious?? I know you love this show, and you’ve been telling me for weeks how badly you wanted to go check the set out. Well here’s your opportunity to meet Rick and Daryl.” He stood up, pulling out his phone in preparation.

“I just don’t feel well, so you go ahead. I’m probably gonna call it a night here soon, anyways. I’m sorry,” I apologized. Sean just shook his head.

“Suit yourself, then.”

I watched as he made his way over to the bar area, watched as he disappeared into the the small crowd surrounding Andy and Norman. I was lying if I said I didn’t want to go say hello, but not with this crowd. _Not with Sean around._ I began packing my small purse, doing my best to get done before Sean would return. When I was all packed up, I started texting him, letting him know that I was gonna head out.

“Case! Casey look!”

I looked up at Sean’s voice, and then I nearly fell out of my chair. He’d somehow managed to drag Norman over to the table. In hot pursuit was Andy, and in less than a minute, I had both of them at our table.

“What’s up?” Norman’s voice was just as gravelly in here as it was on the show. Andy appeared behind him, and I saw his eyes go wide for just a split second, then narrow as he realized what was going on. 

“Hi,” I mumbled as I tried to avoid Andy’s eyes, kinda looking over his shoulder. Anywhere but at him.   _Jesus Christ this was awkward._  

“So, this is your girlfriend, then Sean?” Andy’s eyes were sharp, a crystal clear blue that gave nothing away. I couldn’t be sure what he was thinking right now, but I was definitely embarrassed.  All I could do was sit there and squirm under his gaze. 

“Yes, and she’s a huge fan of yours, Mr. Lincoln! And you too, Mr. Reedus!” Sean continued in that annoying fan-boy voice, and I inwardly cringed anew. This just kept getting better and better…

“Please, call me Andy, okay?” Andy casually remarked, and I died a little more.  He’d pretty much said that same thing to me, not even two hours ago.

“Cool! Okay, Andy. I hate to bug you, but can we get a picture with you guys?” Sean asked as he pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket. “Just one, please?”

I immediately began protesting, my hands raised up to shoo them away, “Oh no, I couldn’t, I really need—“

“Absolutely!” Andy smiled as he came to stand by my chair. “Casey, isn’t it? We can use your phone, what do you think? Since you’re such a big fan?”

Annoyed, I reluctantly stood and took my place in the middle, with Andy next to me, and Norman next to Sean. Andy leaned in close, his arm wrapping around my shoulders as he whispered in my ear. “He’s cute.”

 _“Shut up!”_ I hissed between my fake, tightly-clenched smile. Andy laughed, the deep rumble resonating in his chest and against my side. I seriously thought I was gonna die. Here I was, sandwiched in between Andrew Lincoln and Sean.  Like what in the hell was going on??

Andy took a few pics, each one more painful for me than the first, before finally releasing me. I was so embarrassed, I felt like I must have turned 50 different shades of red since this whole ordeal had begun.  I stepped away from the three of them, doing my best to ignore it. Norman was preoccupied with Sean and some other guests, and Andy decided to use this time to rib me some more. His voice was low, just loud enough for me to hear.  
  
“So this is the"  -  _he did that air-quote thing with his fingers_ \- "thing you ditched me for?” He teased me mercilessly, his blue eyes dancing in the dim light.

“Yes. No! He is not my boyfriend, but yes, I had this planned prior to meeting you,” I muttered as I pulled my keys from my bag. “Now, I have to go. Please excuse me!”

“You look lovely,” Andy slyly whispered so that no one else could here.

Even though I thought it not possible, my cheeks flamed anew as I untangled myself from him and the rest of the crowd. Andy nor Sean followed me, and I was eternally grateful to be let out in one piece. I was beyond mortified at what had just happened. Pushing my way through the crowd, I shoved open the door, and managed to make it out to my car, quickly started it and headed home. Once there, I changed into my sleep clothes, not even bothering to shower. I was still worked up, still feeling a multitude of emotions and not knowing what exactly they were.

I would be the first to admit that I was a little star-struck with Andy. _I mean, he was Andrew Lincoln!_ Mr. Rick Grimes himself, for crying out loud. One of the biggest stars on television, and I had a a long-standing date with him this weekend, as I did every Sunday.  

The issue was that I also had somewhat of a date tomorrow, a running date. With him. I was going to have to go back and face him again after today, after tonight. **God!!**

“Shit,” I mumbled to myself as I went and grabbed the remaining bit of chocolate ice cream from the freezer. I plopped back down on my couch and went to town, trying to eat away my emotions.  I had so much work to do, so much that needed to be read and reread, and all I could think about was those dancing blue eyes of his.  

My phone buzzed on the coffee table, and I nearly jumped out of my skin at the noise.  After taking another spoonful, I reached over and picked it up, sure it was Sean.  

It wasn't...

It was Andy.  

"Jesus," I whispered as I read the text from him.

**_I apologize for being an ass this evening. Can you forgive me?_ **

I toyed with the spoon in my mouth, the butterflies in my stomach dancing as I tried to figure out what to say. If I should even text him back??

 _ **Please?**  _ Andy texted again.

Despite myself, I smiled and texted him back.

**_I forgive you._ _I guess..._**

My phone buzzed again with Andy's response: _**Why the ellipsis?**_

I laughed. He was smart. Damn him. 

I smiled as I responded: _ **Maybe I'm not sure if I completely forgive you for being an ass. I dunno.**  _

HIs reply was quick, my phone buzzed again in my hand: **_Well shit..._**

I laughed again, my earlier mood dissipating with this playful banter.  He was so cute, even over a damn phone. Jesus, I had it bad for this guy.  However, I also knew I had so much work to do tomorrow, and I needed to at least try and get some sleep.  I knew it would be hard, but I needed to try. I texted him back, trying to get the last word in.

 _ **Goodnight:**  _I replied.

Andy clearly wasn't through though: _I **have one more question**_

I sent him back a few question marks in response:  **???**

 ** _Who's your favorite_ _character?_  : **Andy wrote.  

I giggled as I walked into the kitchen and put the ice-cream away.  I made my way down the hall, phone in hand, and snuggled under my covers.  I grinned as I texted him back again: **_Negan._**

Andy's response was delayed this time, and I wondered what was going through his head as I lay there, contemplating whether to text him again. My phone buzzed again, another text from him. 

 _ **Bullshit,** _ it read.

This time I laughed out loud at him, and quickly texted him back: ** _Goodnight!_**

 ** _I'm heartbroken, but you get your rest,_** Andy texted back, earning another giggle from me. 

I didn't text him back again, because I knew that I'd never get any sleep if I didn't stop the conversation. I set my phone down on the nightstand, and rolled over, snuggling down deeper in the blankets.   I closed my eyes, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't lay there and kinda hope that I'd hear my phone go off again... 


	3. Chapter 3

The next day could not drag on any longer. Seriously, it was ridiculous. I could hardly concentrate on my data entry for my dissertation, I just couldn’t focus. I was distracted, couldn’t answer a question correctly to save my soul. Finally, at about 4:00pm, I decided to call it quits and head home. Once there, I sat for over an hour, my eyes on the television, but not focused. I wanted it to be 5pm. Or 6pm, or better yet 7pm, cause then, I’d be running and Andy would be there. I sat around a while longer, mindlessly rearranging my small living area, and cleaning up any unnecessary things.  I hadn't been here long, and didn't plan on being here long, so I didn't have a lot of stuff.   A couch, a television, some books, that was about it.  Very minimal.  At around 6pm, when I could no longer stand it, and had nothing left to clean,  I made my way to the park. I could stretch until he got there, right?

I was still stretching at 6:45pm, and there was no sign of Andy.

No text, no phone call, no nothing. I couldn’t hide my disappointment, and sat dejectedly on the curb in front of my small car. I picked and tore pieces of grass out, letting them blow away in the small breeze.  I wanted to text him — _started to multiple times_ — but each time I put my phone away, wondering why on Earth I thought someone like me should be texting someone like him. I was a nobody in his world. And evidently, he thought so too, if my silent phone was any indication. With a sigh, I stood, knowing that I wouldn’t want to run any more; I was so unmotivated, and like a slug, I dragged myself to my car. Once there, I sat for a few minutes, feeling as pathetic as I could. _Why had I ever thought he'd actually show up??_

My phone buzzed in my hand, causing me to jump.

It was Andy.

**_I’m so sorry!_** , he texted.

I scrunched my lips together, annoyed at him, but still shocked that he texted me.

**_It’s fine,_** I sent back. _It wasn’t fine, but whatever…._

My phone started vibrating, indicating that he was calling me. Without hesitation, I pressed the button to answer.

“Hello?” Why did my voice sound so breathless, Jesus Christ. I hadn’t run. At all.

“You started without me?” Andy’s voice was remorseful, and I found myself forgiving him before he even asked for it. If he was gonna ask, that is. _Shit._

“No, I actually didn’t run at all. I just got here, I was late myself,” I lied, cringing at my reflection in the mirror.

“Oh thank god! I thought I was being a complete prick for not showing up when I said!” Andy sounded relieved; I didn’t have it in me to tell him otherwise. “Work ran over, we had to reshoot some things, typical shit. I am so sorry again.”

“Please don’t apologize,” I shushed him. “I think I’m gonna head home, though. I have a lot of stuff to catch up on, and I’m pretty tired.”

“You’re mad at me, I can hear it in your voice,” Andy stated softly. “Let me make it up to you.”

“Mr. Lincoln—”

“Andy,” he gently corrected.

“Okay. Andy. Look, it’s okay, really. I just need to get home and get something to eat and get in bed.” I closed my visor, ending the pathetic staring contest I was having with myself.

“Let me take you out to eat, then,” Andy countered, his voice deep and cajoling.

“I really can’t—”

“You have to eat, right? You’re going to eat at home, so why not eat with me?” Andy doggedly continued. “Or are you that pissed that I stood you up?”

“Okay, yes I’m annoyed, but more at myself," I admitted.  "Honestly, I just don’t know if this is a good idea.” I could feel my resolve slipping, but I had to try to maintain some sense of control. 

“It’s a great idea, trust me.” I could hear his smile over the phone, and despite my misgivings, I could feel the corners of my lips lifting up into my own smile. He was so damn convincing.

“Where would we go?” I found myself asking. “Everywhere there will be people wanting to talk to you, and honestly, I’m not okay with that.”

“Then you can come to my apartment, or I’ll come to yours, and I’ll cook us dinner. I am quite the good cook, if I do say so.”

“I don’t even know you,” I protested weakly.

“Yes you do. I’m Andrew Lincoln. You said you watch me every Sunday, and I almost broke your boob yesterday. I’d say we know each other fairly well.”

I laughed out loud at him, my cheeks heating as he said the word “boob”. It was so uncultured coming from someone with his accent.

“She laughs!” Andy chuckled over the phone. 

"You have to stop saying boob. It sounds terrible coming from you." 

"Fine, I won't say it ever again.  Do we have a deal?"  

“I dunno…”I hedged again, reality setting back in as my smile faded. 

“I’ll come to you for a few hours. That way, when I’m done cooking you a fabulous dinner, you can kick me right out. Sound good?”

“Andy—”

“It’s just a few hours. Say yes,” Andy’s voice was smooth as sin.

“Two hours,” I countered, trying to maintain some semblance of control.

“Three hours, and you can keep the leftovers,” Andy replied back. “Say yes.”

“Okay,” I caved. “I can’t stay up super late, though. I have lots of work tomorrow..”

“Me too,” Andy agreed.  

"Just dinner." I stated firmly. He was so damn handsome; I needed to remind myself of my own boundaries.  

"Just dinner. Nothing more."  Andy confirmed.  "Text me your address. I'll run by the market, get a few things, and head right over." 

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

My heart was pounding out of my chest when the doorbell finally rang. I smoothed my hair down again, and pulled at an imaginary wrinkle in my tee shirt. I hadn’t dressed up, hadn't seen the need, and honestly, didn't really have the clothes here for anything that special.  I was desperately hoping that Andy wasn’t overly dressed. As I walked to the door, I internally chastised myself for not trying just a little harder. It was Andrew Lincoln after all.  I could have at least put on a nicer top than my Blue October "Made in Texas" tee. Fuck. 

“Hello,” he smiled as I opened the door. I felt my stomach lurch at little at seeing him. He was so damn handsome. And, he was thankfully dressed casually in a tee shirt and jeans, his curls tucked up under a baseball cap. In his right arm, he was cradling a brown bag full of what I knew not.

“Hi,” I breathed out, my cheeks already flushing under his blue gaze.

“Can I come in?” His eyes crinkled at the corner, a playful grin on his face.

“Oh god, yes! I’m so sorry!” I ushered him inside, and quickly locked the door behind him. He set the bag down on the counter in the kitchen, and turned to me.  

"I know the clock's ticking, so where are the pots and pans?"  

* * *

 

An hour later, Andy had whipped up some spaghetti bolognese that was quite honestly to die for. The man could cook. Another mark in his favor. Was there anything he couldn’t do? I had sat atop the barstool, watching him from afar, listening as he talked about the show, and all the differences between the UK and Georgia. I spoke very little, more interested in hearing him talk than I was about talking about myself.

“This is so good, Andy!” I exclaimed as I took another bite. I was stuffed, but couldn’t put it down.

“Thank you,” he smiled back. “So, enough about me. Tell me about yourself. Who’s Sean? Why are you at uni? What's your family like? Do you like dogs?”

I choked at the mention of Sean, and Andy reached over to pat me on the back.  

"You alright?" 

"I'm fine," I stuttered as I grabbed my glass of wine and drank some down to settle myself.  "Just  a lot of questions, you know?"  

"We only have 3 hours remember? And one is in the books already," Andy winked as he lifted his own glass of wine and took a drink.  I rolled my eyes at him, but started talking. 

"I'm here at Emery due to needing a certain class to finish my post-doc work. I'm based out of LSU. I'm only here for about another 2 months, and then I go back. Depending on if my data gets entered, or not, that is."  I took another drink of wine, fighting back the nerves surrounding the overwhelming amount of work I still had to do in such a short amount of time.  Not for the first time did I regret this program, but I was so close to being done. I couldn't quit now. 

"For what area of study?" Andy asked. 

"Neuroscience. The psychology kind. Effects of trauma on the brain and stuff." 

"Damn," Andy sat back on his stool.  "You're clearly the smartest person I've ever met." 

"Yeah right," I snorted, and took another sip.  The wine was going to my head, I could feel it, the warmth spreading through my body and relaxing me.  When I set my glass down, Andy reached over and refilled it, one brow arched as he watched me.  

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" I asked him, my own brow arched.  

"I just want you to talk to me.  Who's Sean?" Andy asked again. 

"A friend."

"Just a friend?" Andy seemed like he didn't believe it. 

"A boy friend, yes." 

"But not a boyfriend, as in the kind you date?"  

"Why do you wanna know that?" I asked Andy, feeling a bit emboldened with the wine, and this vein of conversation.  It had been a while since I'd been this flirty with someone.  I don't know what it was about this man that made me behave the way I did.  I was usually so tightly controlled, so reserved as to come off standoffish.  Any other man, I would have shut them down a long time ago when they started interrogating me as Andy was. 

"Curious, I guess," Andy winked again, completely throwing me off balance. Geez he was handsome. 

"Uhm..okay. I love dogs," - _I used my fingers to count off his questions_ \- "I told you about my educational goals. My family sucks. I'm pretty much broke until I get hired full-time. I read psych journals in my spare time, or run marathons in an effort to practice the so-called self-care that's so important in my field. I'm addicted to Dr. Peppers. I love pizza and cheesecake. Christmas is my favorite holiday. I'm not overly religious. I like to go to the movies. I love to read books, or anything really. I  love Samantha Fish and Blue October. I like beer. I love to sleep in and stay up late."  I cocked my head at Andy and took another sip of my wine.  "Anything else?" 

Andy was smiling back at me, his arms crossed over his chest as he sat.  

"What?" I pointedly asked him, suddenly feeling very naked. I felt like I'd overshared. More than was necessary, and I wanted to take it back and pretend it had never happened.

Andy stood, pulling his phone out of his pocket. I watched him curiously, still sipping on my wine. He fiddled with his phone, and a few moments later, I heard the soulful sounds of Samantha Fish's "[Nearer to You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p08IeOvFdZc)" filling my small kitchen. My heart started thrumming against my ribs as he pulled his hat off and ran the fingers of his other hand through his hair.   Andy placed his phone -and hat - on the countertop, and extended his hand to me. 

"Dance with me?" 

"What?" I whispered, shocked yet again. He reached over, took the wine from my hand, and set it down. 

"Dance with me," he repeated as he pulled me up from my seat, and into his arms. I was trembling against him, not knowing where to put my hands. With a smile, Andy placed my left hand on his shoulder, and cradled my right with his own hand as he held it against his chest.  We started swaying, right there in my little kitchen.  

"I never said I liked to dance," I tried to resist him. I stared at the hair peeking over the top of his tee shirt, doing my best to not meet his eyes. It was a mixture of grey and dark brown, a tease to what lay beneath.  He was taller than me, by a good 6-7 inches at least. And Christ almighty did he smell good. It took everything in me to not press my nose against him, to nuzzle him. 

"You never said you didn't, either," Andy murmured as he pulled me in closer with a hand at my lower back. My breath left my body as my chest crushed against his, and I felt every inch of his body pressed against mine so intimately.  "I think you quite enjoy it." 

"Maybe a little," I whispered shyly, earning a chuckle from Andy.  His fingers splayed against my lower back, right over the spot where the waist of my jeans met the bottom of my tee-shirt, every now and then just barely touching the skin. I shivered, feeling my skin break out in goosebumps of anticipation. 

"I want to see you again." Andy pressed his lips against my forehead as we moved together.  My hand tightened in the fabric of his shirt at his shoulder, my whole body tingling at the contact between he and I.  "Say yes." His lips moved against my heated skin again, willing me to give in to his demand. 

"Yes," I whispered, completely under his spell.  He probably could have told me to jump off a bridge, and I would have done it with a smile. He was an assault on my senses, an overwhelming force that I couldn't possibly reckon with.  It was useless to try and resist him. At my answer, Andy stopped dancing, and the song came to a slow end.  He leaned back to stared down at me.

"I'm going to go before I do something crazy." His voice was low, gruff and husky, and I kinda wanted to beg him to not leave. To do whatever it was that he was referring to, the "something crazy".

I blinked up at him, still under his spell and not thinking straight. Andy leaned down, and pressed his lips to mine as he cupped my cheeks in his very capable hands, and I sagged against him, almost in relief. His lips were just as soft as I assumed they were, and tasted of sweet, red wine. He was soft and gentle, with just the slightest nip on my lower lip as he pulled away. I could see the turmoil in his beautiful blue eyes, now stormy with what I could only assume was the same desire for me, that I felt for him. 

"That wasn't crazy," I whispered up at him, earning another laugh. 

"Crazy enough. I need to go, sweetheart." He kissed me on my forehead,  and stepped out of our embrace.  He grabbed his phone off the counter and briefly stared at it, before looking up at me with a grin. "Just under three hours. Told ya so." 

I smiled back, biting my lower lip with my teeth.  

Andy shrugged into his jacket, and pulled his hat back down lower. I walked him to the door, and with one last kiss on my forehead, he was gone.  I leaned back against my door, wondering what the hell had just happened. It was so fast, so fast that this thing had happened. Literally over night, and now he was kissing  me. And I was letting him. I walked back over to the kitchen and began cleaning up, trying to take my mind off of everything. 

He was gonna break my heart, I could feel it coming. 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know a shit ton about Andy, so if I've made mistakes, let me know and I'll fix them :-)

The next day, I heard nothing from Andy. I was back on campus, working on stuff as usual, for the last day of the week. I had Saturday and Sunday off, thank god. Still, I barely got anything done, same as the day before. I was too preoccupied with thoughts of him. I had my phone next to me the entire day, and I knew it was because I just wanted him to call me, or text me, or anything. I couldn’t get the kiss out of my head. I honestly didn’t even know how it happened, whatever _it_ was that had happened between us. One day earlier, I’d crashed into him while running, and the next, he was dancing with, and kissing me in my kitchen. It was insane. And honestly way too fast for me, and I questioned myself repeatedly over the wisdom of even entertaining _“something”_ with Andy.

Way back in the dark crevices of my mind, I knew that if we repeated last night, and I drank like I did, and Andy kissed me the way he had, I’d fall right into bed with him. I knew it surer than shit. He had this weird power over me that I found hard to resist.  Like why had he even kissed me in the first place?  If he was never gonna call or text, why bother? 

 _Maybe,_ I thought to myself, _maybe that’s what he wanted_. Maybe he was the kind of guy that just met a new girl in each town he was in at the moment, and that was kinda how he rolled? Isn't that what movie stars did? I had no idea. I grabbed my Mac from my bag, and turned it on. Unable to stop, I googled him.

_Yes, I googled him._

I fucking googled him to see who he had dated, and who he was dating. If he was dating.

I found out his name was actually Andrew Clutterbuck, and not really Lincoln. I scrunched my nose up at that, finding it kinda funny sounding.  I found out he was from London, and that he'd graduated from some acting school.  He was in only one movie that I knew of, **_Love Actually_** , and a handful of things I'd never heard of.  He had very curly hair from a young age. I found nothing, other than some British actress from like 1997. Other than that, he was nowhere to be found. What the hell? Was he gay? Or just super secretive? **God!!**

I perused pictures of him, each one better than the next. I couldn’t stop looking at him, and as I went from page to page, I found myself being more and more anxious for him to call.  Why didn't he just call me back??

“Whatcha doin’, Case?”

I snapped my laptop shut, my cheeks reddening with guilt as I stared over the top at Julie. She was one of my cohorts here at Emery, and we’d become fast friends since I’d arrived a month ago.

‘Watching porn, huh?” She laughed as she sat down next to me, dropping her bags on the floor next to our seats. 

 _If she only knew,_ I groaned inwardly.

“Whatever,” I snorted. “You just scared me. What are you up to?”

“Same shit, different day. You?” She pulled her own Mac out, along with a stack of papers. “This shit is wrong, of course. So now I gotta reenter half of it. I am seriously about ninety-nine percent done with this whole damn program.”

“Me too,” I whined as I rested my head on my arms, again feeling the weight of everything left undone. Julie scrolled through her phone as she spoke next. 

“We should go out this weekend. Me and Rob, and you and Sean. What ya think?”

I sighed as I sat back up. I really didn’t want to go out with Sean. I never wanted to lead him on in the first place, and another date would make him think I was interested. I had only really gone out with him as a favor to Julie, but there was nothing between us — at least on my part. He was attractive enough, but I hardly had time for a man at the moment. I snorted inwardly at that line of bullshit. Unless it was Andy, of course. He seemed to be able to get me to just drop all my stuff at a moment’s notice. That bastard had me googling him when I should have been working, for pete's sake!

“Hello? Earth to Casey!” Julie waved her hand in front of my face playfully. “You seem off, are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, just thinking about—“

My phone started ringing, startling us both as it buzzed against the table. I grabbed it, cringing as I saw Andy’s name pop up on the screen. Julie had leaned over to see who was calling, and she sat back, her brows drawn together with curiosity.

“Who’s Andy?”

“He’s nobody. Wrong number,” I lied as I rejected the call and put my phone in my purse. A few moments later, I heard it buzzing again. Julie cocked an eyebrow at me.

“ _Nobody_ is calling again. Maybe you should answer it.”

"I'm good." I shoved my Mac in my bag, and started gathering my things. I was in such a foul-ass mood, and knew that sitting here getting interrogated by Julie would only make things worse. I had to get out of here, go somewhere and clear my head.  

'Wait! Casey! Are going out or not?"  Julie asked again, her voice now tinged with concerned. "What is wrong with you?" 

"Nothing. I just need to get out of here. I'll text you about this weekend, okay?" I pulled my backpack on, and then slid my purse strap over my shoulder.  Julie stared back at me, still confused, but not questioning me any longer.

"Okay, go do what you gotta do. if you don't text me I'll text you," Julie ended the conversation.  

A half-hour later, I'd made it home and had gotten changed up. I headed back to the running trail, intent on clearing my head. 


	6. Chapter 6

    

 

It was raining by the time I’d made it to the track, but I didn’t care; I headed out anyway, my clothing quickly soaking through and sticking to my skin. The rain was steady, but I didn’t mind so much. I loved the rain, loved the feeling of being isolated from the world as I ran through the wooded trail. However, the storm wasn’t easing; in fact, it was building in intensity. I had just passed the first hour when it started lightning, and it was then, and only then, that I decided that maybe I needed to head back. I raced back as fast I could, taking a shortcut in order to get to my car as quick as possible. I rounded the last corner, and there, sitting next to my car was another car. I stumbled for just a minute, but then realized who was there.

It was Andy.

He stepped out of his car as I approached, waving me over to him. He was wearing a blue denim-looking shirt, his hair tucked under a ball cap as usual.  Handsome as sin, but still an asshole; I had to hold my ground. With a shake of my head, I pointedly ignored him, and instead unlocked my car and crawled inside. Andy, the asshole,  followed, letting himself in the passenger side of my car.

“You are super pissed at me, aren’t you?” He asked, his voice low and somber. I stared ahead, watching as the rain ran down my windshield. Occasionally the sky would illuminate with a flash of lightning, quickly followed by a rumble of thunder that would shake the car. 

“I don’t blame you,” Andy continued, still very quietly. “I’ve never been accused of being a good boyfriend.”

“You’re not my _boyfriend_ , Andy. You’re nothing to me, really.” I couldn’t contain the bitterness in my voice, try as I might.

“I deserve that, I know.” Andy agreed. “Can you let me explain though? Can I at least try?”

I reached down and put the key in the ignition, turning my car on as I suddenly felt very chilled. My teeth started chattering despite my best efforts to not be affected — by the weather, or by him. The last thing I wanted was Andy to think I was bothered by any of this. The air blew cold at first, but started coming out warmer in just a few moments. The music played softly in the background, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pull his ball cap off, one hand smoothing over his head as he tried to tame his wet curls. 

“Shooting the scenes ran long, I nearly got a concussion. Then I had to help out Norman, it was really not my fault—”

“Like, I don’t think you understand how much I don’t care about that shit, Andy!” I bit out, tired of his excuses. “We’ve known each other for all of about 5 minutes, and you’ve already kissed me and lied to me, more than once on each account! And like a damn dummy, I keep waiting around for you!”

“I know, I know,” Andy tried again, his tone completely apologetic as he tried to calm me down. 

“Like I have so much real shit to do, and you’re just a fucking actor. _Don’t you understand that?!_ ” I glared out the window, my heated breath causing it to fog on my side. “I get that you’re all famous, I get it. You’re an entitled asshole, and you probably have millions of women throwing themselves at you, but I am not one of them! Don’t you get that?” I turned to him, jabbing a finger in his general direction. He was sitting there, staring down at his lap where his hands rested as he listened. 

“You came on to me, Andy! Remember that? You wanted to run with me — which, by the way, we haven’t done yet! Then, you texted me after standing me up, and asked to come to my house and cook dinner! I never once asked you for anything, this has all been you. And you repeatedly make plans, and then I sit around like a jackass — _not doing my work, mind you_ — and wait to get stood up by you, over and over a-fucking-gain. Like what the fuck??” I turned back around and glared at my window again, my chest heaving with frustration. 

“Look, I know that nothing I say can excuse my shitty behavior-"

"It won't!" I concurred angrily, cutting him off.

Not deterred, Andy continued. "So I won’t even try. Everything you say is true, and I should have better communicated that before making plans that I couldn’t keep.” Andy turned to me again, I could feel him move in the seat. “But I promise, we are done for at least 3 days — the whole weekend until Tuesday actually — so will you please allow me to make it up to you? At least let me try?” Andy tentatively reached over and touched my hand where it rested on the steering wheel. He peeled my fingers off, and wrapped his long fingers around mine. I stubbornly snatched my hand from his and tucked it back under my thigh. 

“Why?” I bit out, still trying to hold out on what I knew was best. Andy was no good for me; somewhere way deep down I knew this.

“Because, I can’t stop thinking about you.” Andy reached over and pulled my hand out from under my leg, forcing me to hold his hand again. “I know we have only known each other for — as you said — _all of about five minutes_ — but I can not stop thinking about you. I don’t know if it’s good, or if it’s bad, but ever since I met you, I can’t stop thinking about dancing with you in your kitchen.” He pulled my hand closer to him, bringing it up to his lips as he laced his fingers with mine. “I can’t stop thinking about the way you felt in my arms, or how good it felt to kiss you. The way your hand feels in mine, how soft your skin is. How good you smell.” He pressed his lips to the back of my hand, and I felt his stubble chafing me ever so lightly, drawling goosebumps from my already-heated skin. 

I took in a deep, shuddering breath, knowing that I was going down fast as his words seeped into my very soul. I was so very weak where he was concerned…

“I can’t stop thinking about how I’d like to kiss you again,” Andy murmured. He reached over with his other hand, and grasped my chin with his fingers, forcing me to look his direction. I watched as he moved closer, knew it was coming, but nothing prepared me for the shocking feeling of him pressing his lips against mine again. He released my hand, only to place it on the edge of my jaw, and pull me closer as he caressed me. I breathed him in, melting as I had done the night before, my senses completely overwhelmed as his fingers ghosted over my skin.

His lips were warm, nipping and biting at my lower lip, teasing me until my lips parted, granting him entrance. His tongue slid in, warmly dancing with mine as he consumed me, and I couldn’t contain my moan of pleasure at the feeling. God help me, I was lost in this man! I could smell his cologne, could feel his body heat as he enveloped me in his arms and pulled me across the console and into his lap, and before I knew what was happening, I was straddling him, my legs on each side of him as he reclined the seat back, giving us more room. His hands snaked up my backside, roaming over my back and hips as he held me tightly against him. Our breaths were hot, fogging up the windows as we writhed against each other like two teenagers caught in the throes of some illicit makeup session. Andy groaned against my lips when I came too close to his crotch, my squirming forcing my core into his as I was unable to resist the motion. His hand landed on my hip, stilling me as he pulled back.

“What?” I breathed out, my lips pink and swollen from his beard, and tongue, and teeth. I leaned forward, trying to capture his mouth again, but he held me at bay with a hand on my shoulder. 

“Not like this, sweetheart,” Andy ruefully smiled up at me. He reached up to push some hair off my forehead, tucking it behind my ear. I couldn’t hide my look of disappointment, and I knew Andy saw it. His eyes softened as he stared up at me. 

“No, Casey. Don’t do that, love,” he shook his head at me as he pulled me back closer. “Can’t you feel how much I want you?” He pushed his hips up, forcing me to feel him, forcing me to feel the hardness straining at his jeans. With a groan, he pulled me so that my forehead was touching his, our eyes mere inches apart as he stared into mine. His were now a stormy blue, a turbulent picture of a raging desire that matched my own. I swallowed hard, never having been so intimate with another human being in my life. I’d had sex before, sure, but never, ever had I been this intimate with another man. Never.

“I want to do this right,” Andy breathed against my lips. “I want to make it up to you, and cook you dinner, and do things the right way, sweetheart.” He nipped at my lower lip again, sucking it in and releasing it slowly. “Can we try that?”

“I’m so confused, Andy,” I admitted quietly. I dropped my head down to his chest, turning in his arms so that he was now cradling me. I was feeling an overwhelming urge to cry. I was so alone here, and along comes Andy, and then he’s in and out, and I was just feeling a multitude of emotions that seemingly wanted to come out right now. I sniffled against him, unable to hold it in any longer. I felt his arms circle me, holding me tighter.

“I’m sorry, Casey. I am,” Andy whispered as he kissed the top of my head. “Let me make it up to you, please.”

"You must think I'm crazy, right?" I sniffled again. 

"Maybe a little," Andy chuckled. I sat up, shooting him an annoyed look, but I quickly realized he was joking as he flashed a grin back at me. With another dramatic sigh, I laid my head back down on his chest, nuzzling into his neck as I listened to his heartbeat steadily slow down.  

"I just don't want to get hurt, you know?" I fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. "I barely know you, and I already feel crazy when I'm around you." 

"Me too," Andy hugged me tighter.  "So let's take it one day at a time, not worry about tomorrow, okay?"

"And then what?" I asked.  

"Will you be mad if I say I don't know what happens next?" He lazily rubbed his hand up and down my spine.  "Can we just start with dinner?" 

"I guess," I grumbled against him.  

"You guess? _You guess??_ " Andy repeated, poking my in the ribs, earning a giggle from me as I squirmed against him.  I sat up, looking into his eyes again. 

"No promises, okay?   _No promises about anything,_ okay?"  I hope he understood what I was meaning.  I knew that if I slept with him, I'd be lost.  I had to maintain some control, some grip on the situation,  tenuous though it may be. He nodded at me in understanding. 

"No promises. And no expectations, okay?" He pulled me forward again.  "Now kiss me, woman." His eyes landed on my lips, and I watched as he licked his lower lip with anticipation.  Unable to resist him, I planted a sweet kiss on his lips before pulling away. I crawled back into my seat, and buckled before shooing Andy out with a flick of my wrist. 

"Now go. I have to go home, get showered up." I turned the radio up a little louder, and checked my cell phone.  

"I'm coming over tonight, just so you know," Andy stated as he pulled his hat back on.  "Give me about an hour or so?" 

"As long as you bring food." I pulled out my cellphone and checked my message. A text from Julie. One from Sean, along with a missed voicemail. _Shit._

A few moments later, Andy and I had separated, he going back to his car, and me to mine.  He was going to stop by the store, pick up a few things, and I was heading home to get cleaned up. As I drove home, I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was wrong with me.  

When had I ever done something so crazy as this?  Making out in a car, in broad daylight, where anyone could see me? But then in the same breath, I wondered why I thought I was crazy? People hooked up like this everyday, all over the world! What made this any different? Why wasn't I allowed to hook up like this, no strings attached? _Was it really so bad?_ I nervously chewed on my fingernail as I pulled into the apartment complex and parked my car.  I sat there for the longest, contemplating the decisions that were about to be made tonight.

Decisions that could make huge waves in my very orderly life...

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**An hour or so later….**

The doorbell chimed loudly, startling me from where I was getting dressed in my room. Thinking that Andy might be a little early — and not caring in the slightest —I ran to the door, doing my best to not appear as if I’d just run. I smoothed down my hair, took a few deep breaths, and opened the door.

“Hi… _Sean_ …” I trailed off, my tone clearly disappointed.

“Nice to see you, too,” Sean frowned at me. He looked me up and down, taking in my half-dressed appearance. “Going somewhere?”  I had on nice clothes, but my make-up and hair were complete shit. 

“Uh, no. Just got home, and cleaned up.” I self-consciously ran a hand over my hair, patting it down. It was curling, and I resigned myself to just throw it up in a messy bun at the top of my head. Now that Sean was here, I’d never have time to do anything with it anyways.

“You wanna come in?” I reluctantly offered as I turned and walked back into my living area.  Sean followed, closing the door behind him. I walked over to the couch and plopped down, very much disgruntled. The last thing I was expecting today was to see Sean, of all people. I worried my lower lip between my fingers, wondering when Andy might show up. If he showed up. Fuck. What if he showed up and Sean was still here?!

“I was looking for you at the office. Julie told me you went on a run, but I figured this rain ended that. Said we might all go out tonight or tomorrow, I'm not sure.  You didn't answer my texts. So, then I was in the neighborhood, and decided to stop by and see you.” Sean rested his elbows on his knees, his hands steepled together in front of him. “How are you, Casey?”

“I’m fine, Sean. Really. I just needed to clear my head. And yeah, the rain got kinda bad, the lightning and stuff.”

‘What’s going on?” Sean asked, leaning forward slightly. For the first time since I’d known him, I noticed just how black his hair was, how almost inky it was as it laid across his forehead in that weird way that it did. How had I not noticed before how much I didn't like his hair? How bushy his eyebrows were?   _How not attracted to him, I was? Or that I wished he had curls and blue eyes instead, and an accent?_

“Casey?” Sean frowned at me again.

“Oh god! I’m sorry!” I apologized, my cheeks heating in embarrassment. “I am just so tired right now, I can’t even think straight, you know? I really just want to go to bed, get some rest.”

“I’m talking about us, Casey. Is there an us? I don’t even know anymore.” Sean stood up, his hands on his hips as he walked around my small apartment. I could tell that he was frustrated as he continued speaking. “I thought there was, you know, but you seem to not be very interested.”

“Sean…I…you know, I don’t know what I want right now, honestly. I have so much school work, I don’t even have time to date. You are—”

“Let me guess — such a great guy, right?” Sean finished sarcastically.

“Sean, please—” I tried again, as I myself stood up, trying to placate him.

The doorbell rang again, and Sean and I looked at each other. Realization flashed across his face, his frown getting deeper as he headed back to the door.

“Guess that’s my cue to leave,” he muttered. I ran after him, freaking out, knowing that it just might be Andy on the other side. Without waiting, Sean flung the door open, coming face to face with none other than Andy.

My mouth dropped open.

Sean looked pissed.

Andy looked bemused, a half-smile on his face, brows drawn together.

It was the most colossal fuck-up ever, I groaned to myself.

“Hello,” Andy stared back at us. His arms were full with yet another brown bag, the contents again a mystery to me. He also had a small backpack flung over his shoulder, and as usual, his ball cap was in place.

“Wait…” Sean pointed at Andy, then turned around to stare at me. “Are you?” He turned back around to Andy. “You’re him, aren’t you?”

“No,”— Andy assured him —“I only look like him.” At some point, Andy had morphed into his thick, Southern accent, doing his best to not be Andrew Lincoln.

“That’s bullshit,” Sean countered. “You’re him. And you’re”— he turned back around to stare at me, mouth set in an even deeper frown as he put two and two together —“here with Casey?” He accused, turning back to stare at Andy once more. I could see things were getting testy,  could see Andy take a different stance as Sean visibly puffed his chest up in front of the actor. Sean was hot-tempered - _I knew this about him_ \- and I could see this getting way outta hand if I didn't diffuse the situation. 

I held my hands up to calm him down. “Sean, let me explain, please!”

“What’s to explain, Casey? You got what you wanted, right?” Sean glared at me as he pulled his key out of his pocket. He turned back to Andy, jerking a thumb at me.  “Good luck with her. She’s one of those girls that uses men to get what she wants, don’t fall for her little tricks.”

Shocked, I gasped out loud at his spiteful words, my cheeks flaming with heated indignation. I opened my mouth to argue with him, to deny his allegations, but before I could say anything - before he let me even attempt to defend myself - Sean had left, leaving only Andy staring back at me from the doorway. He shifted the brown bag from one side to the other.

“So, is this a bad time, then?” Andy playfully squinted his eyes at me, his head tilted to the side. “Want me to leave?”

Now I threw my hands up in my own frustration, and turned back to go to my living room. “Do what you want, Andy! I can’t even deal with this right now.” I slumped down on the couch, wrapping my arms around my knees as I drew them up to my chest. A few moments later, I felt Andy sit down next to me. He gently placed a hand on my forearm.

“I decided to come in, just so you know,” he whispered very seriously. I couldn’t contain the almost hysterical giggle that escaped at his words.

“I see that.”

“You wanna talk about it?” Andy asked. I shook my head in disagreement.

“Not really.”

“Okay,” Andy replied. “I’m going to go cook you some dinner. You stay here, watch some television. I’ll come get you when I’m through. How does that sound?”

I looked up at him, curiosity piqued. “Why are you so nice to me? Especially after that? Don’t you even want to know about me and him?”

Andy leaned over, and pressed a sweet kiss against my cheek. “You’ll tell me when you’re ready, I assume.”

All I could do was stare after him, watching as he disappeared into my kitchen for the second time in a week. 


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

At some point - _and, believe me,  I don't even know how_ -I must have dozed off.  Maybe it was the sound of the rain pelting against the windows, maybe it was the exhaustion from the past week. Maybe it was the sound of Andy humming some song in the kitchen, or the smell of whatever it was he was cooking that lulled me to sleep. Either way, I had fallen asleep right there on the couch, wrapped up in my blanket. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard the shrill sound of my fire alarm,  and I nearly broke my neck as I tried to climb off the couch whilst still tangled in my blanket. I half-walked, half-stumbled into the kitchen to see what has happening, and finally realized what was going on when I saw Andy shooing the smoke away with a towel, every other breath punctuated by a curse word from him.

“Well fuck!,” he griped as I came into the kitchen.

Blanket still wrapped around my shoulders, I leaned up against the doorframe, watching him and surveying the mess. II was still groggy, still somewhere between awake and asleep, but it was pretty funny, to be honest. I did my best to not start laughing at the mess that was my kitchen; he had shit everywhere. Pots, pans, vegetables, knives, paper towels - you name it.  Andy turned on the water as he placed the skillet in it, doing his best to put the fire out that was licking at his forearms.  Thick, black smoke rose from it, filling up the kitchen, and seeing this, I quickly walked over and opened the vent — along with the window over the sink — in an effort to air it out. Andy took care of the fire alarm, slapping at it with a towel until it quieted. I walked back over to the door, and leaned against it again, watching him. He gave me a pathetic frown. 

“Well, Casey, it looks like we’re going to starve tonight.”

At the dejected tone of his voice - and the sight of some flour or something on his forehead - I burst out laughing, unable to control it any longer as I watched him shuffle around the kitchen, doing his best to clean up the mess. He was just so... _domesticated._   Such a far cry from the badass that was Rick Grimes. I couldn't handle it! He turned back to me, one eyebrow arched as he tossed the towel onto the countertop.

“You think that’s funny?” He walked towards me, backing me up into the door as he caged me in, one hand on either side.

“I do, yeah,” I whispered back, suddenly finding it hard to breathe with him in such close proximity. Andy’s blue eyes roamed over my face, down to my neck where I was positively sure he could see my pulse suddenly pounding out of control under my skin. 

“We’ve got no food, what will we eat?” His voice had dropped down lower, his blue eyes hooded as they met mine again.

“Whatever you want,” I whispered again, no longer sure we were talking about food. I couldn’t control the shiver that rolled over my body as he reached up and ran one long, rough fingertip down the side of my face and up under my jaw. He lightly wrapped his hand around my throat, his thumb brushing over the indention at the base of my neck ever so slightly. I swallowed, wiling myself to calm down, but finding it impossible to do. 

“Whatever I want,” he repeated huskily. "You really should be careful with what you offer me, love."  His eyes never left mine as he leaned forward. I parted my lips, knowing what was coming, but hardly prepared. Andy pressed his lips against mine, using his hand to cup my face and turn me the way he wanted. Not knowing what to do, I clutched at his shirt, pulling him closer.

“Fuck,” Andy groaned against me as he pulled me closer, forcing a leg in between my thighs. I gasped at the intrusion, but only pulled him closer as I reached up and tangled a hand in the curls at the back of his head.

My senses were inundated with him — the smell of his cologne, the heat emanating from his body, the thick wall of muscle that he was as a man. The feeling of his body pressed against mine, the rustle of our clothes. The taste of his lips, the silkiness of his tongue as it plundered my mouth. I couldn’t get enough of him. Our teeth gnashed together, our hands roaming everywhere as we struggled to get closer, as we did anything we could to get closer. Andy’s hand slid up my hip, finding it’s way to my breast, and I was forced to release his lips as I turned my head to the side and moaned out loud, struggling to catch my breath at his touch. At the sound, Andy stopped, pulling back from me as he released my breast. His fingers dug into my hip, and I knew that he was holding himself back.

“What’s wrong?” I whimpered as I moved against him, trying to pull him back to me. He sucked in a deep breath as he leaned back from me, standing up to his full height.

“I’m just not sure you’re ready, sweetheart,” Andy murmured gruffly. He discreetly adjusted himself in his jeans, smoothing a hand over his shirt, and then over his hair as he did so.

“ _Me? I’m_ _ready!_ ” I was pouting, almost whining as I stared up at him. Andy had the nerve to grin at me.

“Baby, I just showed up at your house and you had another man here, one that I believe assumes he’s your boyfriend. Don’t you think we should sort that out first?” Andy reached down and grabbed my hand, lacing my fingers with his. Now I was annoyed. I untangled myself from him, and walked back into the living room. Andy followed.

“He is not my boyfriend, so I don’t even know why that’s a fucking thing!” I was on the verge of tears, I was so damn sexually frustrated. Andy plopped down next to me on the couch. Again.

“He believes he is,” he stated so matter-of-factly that I wanted to smack him upside his gorgeous head. 

“Well I can’t help what he believes, Andy! I know what he is, and _what he is not_ is my boyfriend!” I spat out. I grabbed the remote, turning the television on, volume up a little too loud. “Why don’t you just leave?”

Andy reached over, grabbed the remote, and turned the television back off, plummeting us back into an uncomfortable silence. I glared at him, my lips stuck in what could be a permanent pout.  He stared back, and I stubbornly looked away. 

“Listen, Casey, believe me, there’s nothing more I’d like to do right now than throw you up against the wall and fuck you senseless, but I am simply not that kind of man.”

Torn between being completely shocked at his words - a _nd not believing him at all_ -I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.  What kind of man didn’t jump on sex, whenever or wherever it came from? Andy was almost a gentleman, whatever the hell that was.  I don't think I'd ever met one, to be honest, and right now, I wasn't entirely sure that I liked it. 

“Believe me.” He reached over, grabbed my hand again. I didn't pull away this time. 

“So what kind of guy are you, Andy?” I couldn’t help myself from asking the question.

“The kind that takes a girl out for dinner, or to the cinema. The kind that takes girls home to my mum. The kind that I hope knows when not to fuck up what might be a good thing.” He pulled my hand up to his mouth, his lips brushing against the skin on the back of my hand. I watched him, transfixed, completely under his spell.  Was he really talking about me?  

“What say we find something to eat, and just talk?”

“Just talk,” I repeated, still watching as he rubbed the back of my hand against his lips. His beard tickled me, the whiskers scraping against my sensitive skin.

“Just talk.” He nodded in agreement. My stomach growled, a painful reminder that I'd not had anything since breakfast some 12 hours ago.  Andy grinned at the noise.  "And eat. Something. Anything." 

"I have frozen wings, some chips, and maybe some leftover ice cream.  How's that sound?" I gave him a shy smile, blushing when he smiled back.  

"I think it sounds fantastic." He stood, pulling me up with him.  "However, I think you should help me in the kitchen this time. I'd hate to burn it completely down." 


	9. Chapter 9

  

 

It was nearing 10pm.

Andy and I were still sitting on the floor of my small living room, polishing off the last few bites of buffalo wings and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. We’d continued talking about our families, about our childhoods. Mine was far less glamorous than Andy’s upbringing, that was for sure. We talked about how we’d ended up in our careers, Andy as an actor, and I as a potential doctor of psychology. We talked about movies, about our favorites — Andy admitted his was “ **It’s A Wonderful Life** ”. _(I probably melted a little at that)._ About books, mine was anything King or Tolkien or psychology or science, Andy’s was anything by Cormac McCarthy. _(I made a mental note to put **The Road** on my list of things to read.)_ I admitted that I’d read all The Walking Dead comics on a free website, Andy laughed out loud at my illegal ways. We talked about music, about Andy’s love of Prince, and mine of Pearl Jam and Blue October and anything bluesy.

We just talked.

And talked and talked…and talked some more. It was amazing how easy the conversation flowed between us.

“Chocolate is my favorite,” I mumbled around a mouthful. "You?” I asked Andy as I handed him the small pint. He also took a spoonful.

“If I had to choose, I’d say cookies and cream.” He set the pint down on the coffee table before us, wiping his lips with a paper towel. He stared across at me, his brows drawn together a bit as he studied me, the fingers of one hand scratching at his beard as if he were contemplating some great mystery of the universe.

“What?“ I asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious with the way he was looking at me. I swear, it felt like he was undressing me with his eyes, so serious was the look he was giving me.

“It’s nothing, really,” Andy paused, then resumed running a few fingers through the hair on his jaw.

“Tell me!” I pestered him. I hated when someone did that, only to pull back.

“I just really, really like you,” Andy smiled, albeit a little shyly. I relaxed, blushing under his gaze.

“Is that good or bad?” I asked, literally waiting with bated breath for his answer. I felt like I'd stopped breathing. 

“I think it’s good, but I just have to be honest with you, Casey.” Andy looked away, over towards the lone window behind my small couch. “In my…line of work, if you will…I have to be careful, you know? I have to weigh out everything I do, have to really be cautious about who I spend time with. It's difficult to know who to trust, and —”

“And you don’t trust me, right?” I interrupted him; I could feel my stomach sinking, could feel my throat constricting with disappointment. Andy’s head snapped back around at my assessment, his blue eyes piercing me.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s that I don’t really know you.”

“No, no, I understand. Really, I do.” Unable to look at him any longer,  I scooped up the ice cream and empty bowls, and hurriedly made my way back over to the kitchen. I busied myself with washing out the bowls, occasionally wiping away an annoying, errant tear. _I had no idea why I was so upset over this!_ I sniffled as I shoved a bowl in the dishwasher, slamming the door a little too hard.

“I’ve stuck my foot in my mouth again, haven’t I?”

I stood up straight, hands planted on the sink edge. I couldn’t face him, couldn’t let him see that I was crying over something so damn stupid. _Crying over him._ God, I was so damn lame.

“I’ve upset you again.” Andy stated softly. A few moments later, I felt him come behind me, his warm, hard chest pressed against my back as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. I stood stiff, unyielding as I tried to resist him. I did, however, reach up and wipe away another tear before it began rolling down my cheek.

“I’m sorry,” Andy whispered as he kissed the back of my head.

He turned me around, but I refused to look up at him, instead opting to stare at the spot just above his tee-shirt, that bare patch of skin at the base of his neck. I flinched when he gently brushed away a tear with the pad of his thumb, and for some reason, that made me cry even harder. A mixture between a choking sound and a sniffle escaped my lips, and —unable to prevent it — I bowed my head against him, crying in earnest. With a sigh, Andy held me tighter, rubbing the area between my shoulder blades as I cried.

We stood there for a few moments, before Andy gently led me back to the couch. He sat first, then pulled me on to his lap, wrapping his arms around me again.

“I’m so sorry, Casey,” Andy murmured as he held me against his chest. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m just trying to be truthful, okay? Everything is moving really fast between us, and to be honest, I’ve never been in this type of situation before. It’s a little bit frightening.”

I wiped my eyes again, sniffling as I listened to his words. Maybe I wasn't the only feeling whatever it was that I was feeling, maybe he felt it too? 

“I’m scared too, Andy. I leave soon, in less than two months. Back to Louisiana.” My voice was broken up by the occasional hiccup as I tried to regulate my emotions. “I have so much work to do, and I literally sit around waiting for you to call or text me. I can't keep doing this back and forth thing.”

Andy’s arms tightened around me at my admission. A flash of lightening lit up the sky, followed by the distant rumble of thunder as the next storm rolled in. I wiggled on his lap a bit, moving so that I was better situated. I was so warm, so very comfortable as he held me. However, it didn’t last long. The rain started coming down harder, pounding against my window as it came down in buckets, and I felt goosebumps break out on the skin of my arms. I shook as a shiver rolled over my body, the temperature in the small apartment dropping as the cold front moved in. 

“Are you cold?” Andy quietly asked.

“A little.”

“Hop up for a moment, okay?” Andy gently removed me from his lap, before laying back down on the couch. He motioned for me to come next to him, and I did so, allowing him to pull me to him so that we were spooning on the couch. He was behind me, his strong arms wrapping around me as he pulled the blanket from the back of the couch down on top of us.

“Better?”

“Uhh-hmm,” I agreed as I snuggled into him a bit more, my head resting on the bicep of his left arm. I nestled into him, both my hands clutched at my chest as I lay there. It felt so right. It felt so safe. He was so warm, so comforting, and at this point, I couldn’t imagine not feeling like this ever again. As a wave of sadness rolled over me again, I clenched my eyes shut, trying to push that horrible thought from my head. I barely knew this man — it was ridiculous to feel this way about him. 

“Get some sleep, sweetheart,” Andy kissed the back of my head again. I sighed as he pressed his nose into the back of my neck, and together, we slept.


	10. Chapter 10

I woke the next morning to an empty room. I sat up, rubbing my eyes as I looked around. I felt another wave of sadness when I realized he was gone. It was too early to feel this way, too early to feel this way about a man I barely knew. Too early for him to be leaving me, and sneaking off in the middle of the night. It was just too early.

Maybe, I thought crazily, maybe he was still here! _Maybe he was in the bathroom_ , I thought to myself.

With a tiny bit of renewed hope, I frantically crawled off the couch, throwing my blanket off as I walked into the kitchen. Looking for him, looking for a sign. He wasn’t there, and dammit, he wasn’t in the bathroom. Still, I kept looking. I think I was looking for a note, something that would tell me why he’d snuck off in the night like we were involved in some sleazy affair. I found nothing.

I walked back to the living room and grabbed my cell phone. I felt my breath catch when I saw that he’d texted me:

_**I’m sorry. I’m no good for you. Please forgive me.** _

I sat there, feeling a myriad of different emotions wash over me. Anger, disappointment, hurt. Sadness. Embarrassment for crying in front of him, shame for being so needy and falling into his arms so quickly. I felt it all. I could feel my chin trembling as I typed a response.

_**Fuck you! Don’t ever contact me aga--** _

I quickly erased it, knowing that it sounded completely psycho to send something like that to a man I barely knew. We hadn’t even had sex, for fucks sake! I started typing again, taking deep breaths so that I could do what I needed to do.

_**I wish you well. Please don’t contact me again.** _

I stared at the message for a few moments, contemplating if I should even bother, or if I should really cuss him out. I wanted to do the latter, not gonna lie. I just knew that it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t how I did things. Maybe I shouldn’t message him at all. Maybe I should pretend like I’d not gotten the message. Ignorance was bliss, right??

“Fuck it,” I mumbled. I pressed the send button, and then shut down my phone. Like completely turned it off. I then got up, and tried to go about my day. I was done waiting on Andy. Matter of fact, I thought to myself as I showered up —I was going to talk to my advisor and see about speeding things up so that I could get back to Louisiana. I had absolutely no reason to stay here any longer that I needed to. Georgia was clearly no good for me — in a multitude of ways, it was just causing me unnecessary annoyances.

* * *

 

**A few hours later…**

Even though it was Saturday, I’d convinced one of my doctoral advisors to meet me for coffee at a local cafe. We’d discussed what I had left to do, and whether or not I could finish it here or at LSU. The general consensus was that I could actually finish this last class at LSU — but it would add another 6 months onto my program, due to it not being offered at the moment. That was the whole point in me being at Emory to begin with. I couldn’t hide my disappointment at not being able to leave. My advisor left it up to me — “whatever I wanted to do,” he’d said. I left my meeting feeling even more dejected.

Trapped was actually what I was feeling. I felt trapped, and there was nothing I hated more than being trapped somewhere I didn’t want to be. It caused my anxiety to rise, and made me do stupid things, like call up old boyfriends, or take weird ass trips across the country just because I could. I hated feeling like I had no options.

As I drove home, I couldn’t resist calling Julie. She picked up on the second ring.

“What’s up?”

“I need to get out of here,” I whined as I drove. “I hate this place.”

“What’s wrong?” Julie’s voice echoed her concern. “Did something happen?”

Over the next few minutes, I relayed to her what had happened with my advisor, and the choice I had to make. How I was feeling trapped, all of it.

“Well, I don’t want you to go, but you gotta do what you gotta do. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I need to go get wasted somewhere tonight. Wanna go out?” I asked as I turned into my parking lot. I maneuvered my car into my spot, and sat there as I waited for Julie to respond.

“Who?”

“All of us. Sean, too. I’ll call him.” I nibbled on my fingernail as I stared out my front windshield.

“Are you sure? I thought you were talking to someone else…” Julie trailed off, uncertain.

“He’s nobody, I told you that,” I barked, a little too angrily.

“Okay, he’s nobody,” Julie sarcastically agreed. “If you’re sure, we can go. Rob won’t mind.”

“I’m positive.” I shut my car off, and grabbed my bag.

If nothing else, I needed to take my mind off of going home to an empty apartment. I just didn’t want to be here any longer.

* * *

 

**Later that evening...**

We ended up at a bar right outside of Atlanta, not too far away from the college. I’d called up Sean, and while he was hesitant, he still agreed to come out with us. I could tell from the moment he showed up that he was a bit standoffish, but after a few drinks, we had both loosened up.

“Come dance with me,” I giggled as I grabbed his hand and tugged him up. He stood, a little wobbly on his feet, as his broad chest crashed into mine as he stood. I felt him wrap his arms around me, and I did the same, my hands resting on his hips.

“You are so bad for me, Casey. Do you know that?” Sean murmured as he leaned down to kiss me. I let him, but I couldn’t help but feel a little disgusted at the way his lips seemed so sloppy against mine. He seemed so innocent almost in the way he was kissing me, almost as if he’d never done it before. I pushed down the gross feeling in my throat as I kissed him back. When his hands started roaming across my back, I couldn’t help but recoil. Luckily, I managed to play it off as simply wanting to go dance.

“Come on! I have to dance off all these drinks!” I pulled him with me, out onto the dance floor, and we started moving. I did my best to dance in his space, but not be all over him. Sean was pretty close to being wasted, and it was basically me holding him up as we moved. He was sweating, and I could feel it through his shirt each time we touched. To be honest, it was pretty disgusting, but I was intent on having a good time _…even if it involved fucking a guy that I really had no attraction to._ I had to take my mind off of chestnut curls and blue eyes, off of British accents and soft kisses.  I turned around, grinding my ass into Sean’s crotch as he pulled me closer, doing my best to lose myself in the moment. We continued on, song after song, surrounded by a few hundred hot bodies dancing and moving to the music.

Finally a slow song came on, and I leaned in to tell Sean that I needed to go get something to drink. I was feeling a little dizzy, probably a combination of all the alcohol, and a complete lack of water. Holding his hand, I followed him back to our small table. Julie was there, sitting in Rob’s lap, and pretty much oblivious to the world as they sucked face. I envied them, the connection that they clearly had. I grabbed one of two shots of whatever that were still sitting on the table and downed one, and then the other. It stung going down, the warmth spreading as it flowed into my stomach. I then reached over and grabbed another glass, some kind of mixed drink. It wasn’t mine, so I assumed it was Julie’s. I emptied it’s contents into my stomach as well.

“I’ll be back. Gonna get some water and go to the restroom,” I yelled towards them, over the crowd as I set the glass down. Sean had dropped his head down on the table, and I was pretty sure he was out. Drinking and bars weren’t his thing, that was for sure. Julie and Rob paid no attention to me, still wrapped up in each other. I grabbed my small wallet and purse, and made my way to the restroom. As I was sitting on the toilet, I checked my phone.

_(Who doesn’t check their phone on the toilet??)_

I nearly fell off when I saw that I had 3 missed calls, accompanied by 3 messages. All within the last hour, with the last one just minutes ago. 

_All from Andy._

I opened the first one.

_**I’m sorry. Please call me back. I need to talk to you.** _

the second:

**_Please just pick up._ **

and the third….

_**I’m an asshole. I really need to explain myself to you. Please call me when you get this message.** _

I sat back, annoyed as hell. And sad. It must be the alcohol. It had to be the alcohol that made me want to cry. I had nothing to be sad about. Andy was a douche, plain and simple.

I finished my business, and left the stall. I cleaned up and made my way out into the hallway, when my phone vibrated again. I took a deep breath as I answered it.

“What?” I barked into the phone.

“Casey?” Andy’s voice was loud. “Where are you? What is that noise?”

“You don’t need to know. What do you want?” I sagged against the wall, my head dropping back as the alcohol began to hit me fully.

“I want to talk to you, but I can barely hear you.”

“Well maybe you should have talked to me last night, Andrew,” I drawled out his name sarcastically. The alcohol was definitely affecting me. I could feel the warmth spreading over me as I finally began to absorb it’s full effects. My head began to feel almost disconnected, and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. What the hell was in those drinks? I slid down the wall, landing hard on my bottom and letting out an “oomph” for emphasis.

“Casey?” Andy’s voice dragged me back into the present. “Where are you? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, _Andrew._ I had a few drinks,” I slurred out, emphasizing his name. “Why don’t you leave me alone?”

“Tell me where you are!” Andy’s voice had grown hard; I could hear it, even in my stupor.

“Shhhh,” I shushed him with a giggle.

“Goddammit, Casey! Where are you? Give me a name.” Andy demanded. **“Casey!”**

My eyes popped open at his yell.

“God. Uhhmm...I think Julie said it was called MJ’s, or the Concourse or something?” My brows drew together as I struggled to remember. I opened my eyes, and saw a lady passing by. “Excuse me, ma’am. What is the name of this place?”

“MJQ’s,” the lady responded as she disappeared into the bathroom.

“Did you hear that, Andrew?” I giggled again.

“Say it again!” Andy shouted into my ear. I grimaced, holding the phone away from me so as not to go deaf.

“Can you stop screaming? Geez.”

“Casey, listen. What’s the name of the place you’re at?” Andy asked again, this time much more gently, but still loud enough to be commanding. 

“MJQ’s,” I huffed out in annoyance. “Why? You gonna...st..sta.. stand me up here, too?” I closed my eyes again, my head leaned back against the wall.

It was hard to talk, seemed hard to breathe. I knew Andy was talking, I could hear him, but his voice sounded muffled, kinda like he was far away. I couldn't make out his words. I couldn't answer him. I think I dropped my phone, but I couldn't open my eyes to see and pick it up. I just needed a few minutes of sleep. I was so damn tired. I just needed to rest for a minute, then I'd be good.  Just a quick little nap...


	11. Chapter 11

I rolled over, holding my head as the world began swimming. The lights were way too bright coming through the window, and I squinted before blinking a few times to get my eyes to adjust. I slowly tried to look around again, really taking in my surroundings as best I could.

The first thing I noticed was that these weren’t my sheets.

_And this wasn’t my bed._

And those certainly weren’t my boots tucked neatly against the wall, nor was that my jacket hung neatly over the chair.

My heart hammering in my chest, I turned over, fearing what I might find...but found nothing. The other side of the bed was completely empty, still made up. Wherever I was, I’d slept alone at least. Another thought passed through my head, and quickly I glanced down at myself, relieved to see that I still had my clothes on. The only thing missing was my jacket. It was folded neatly across the end of the bed. I slowly began sitting up, taking a few deep breaths to steady the rising nausea — _and panic_ — at finding myself in such a horrible situation. I had never been so stupid in my entire life!

I looked around, wondering what to do, when I saw the bedside table. My phone was there, and I grabbed it, grateful to see that it was still charged, and still working. I quickly called Julie.

Of course she didn't answer.

“Julie, it’s me. Call me back. I have no idea where I am, or where you are, and I’m really fucking scared. Call me!” I hissed into the phone, doing my best to be quiet. I ended the call, and swung my legs off the bed, and—

“Good morning, Casey.”

My breath caught, and I nearly dropped my phone at the sound of his voice.

“Andy?” I whispered as I turned back around. Sure enough, there he was. Looking gorgeous and well rested, and just as utterly perfect as I remembered him.

He leaned against the door frame, clad in a white tee shirt and some grey sweatpants, his feet bare. His hair was tousled from sleep, his scruffy jaw on display. His blue eyes twinkled, even from afar. He looked as if he hadn’t a care in the world…

“Yes, ma’am,” Andy drawled as he moved closer to the bed. I subconsciously scooted back, drawing the blankets up around my shoulders. Sensing my unease, Andy faltered, choosing to remain standing at the end of the bed instead. 

“Where did you sleep?” I pointedly asked as I clutched the blanket to my chest.

“On the couch. In the living area,” Andy smiled at me. I took a deep breath and let it out; I felt myself relaxing. I believed him. “How do you feel?” he gently continued.

“Like shit,” I grumbled.

“I bet,” Andy chuckled. “I’ll be right back.” He disappeared for just a moment, returning with a bottle of water, another cup of coffee (I assumed), and some tylenol.

“This will help your headache.” He handed me the pills and the water. I gratefully took both, downing the pills and the water. He then handed me the coffee. “It’s a flavored coffee - caramel, I think. I added a few things to it, but I have sugar, and creamer, and all sorts of things in the kitchen. Wasn’t sure what you wanted.”

“This is fine, thank you,” I gave him a small smile of appreciation. “How did you know where I was? And why did you come get me?” I sipped on the coffee, pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted just the way it was. _Jesus Christ, he even made good coffee…_

Andy took up a seat at the end of the bed, and recounted his story of how he’d called me (which I kinda vaguely remembered), and how he’d managed to find the bar. He found me, and somehow I’d still been alert enough to open my phone so that he could find Julie. He let her —and Rob, and I assumed Sean — know that he would be taking me home. They seemed fine with it. He explained his reasoning for taking me to his apartment, instead of to mine, becauseI apparently passed out in his car, and his apartment was on a lower floor, and closer to the bar, and just basically made more sense. I wished I could tell him how grateful I was for taking care of me, but my mind was in a weird space at the moment. I didn't want to be happy to see him; I was supposed to be mad at him for leaving me. 

“Did they know who you were?” I asked, incredulously. I couldn’t believe no a one of them had put up a fight!

“Don’t think so, no,” Andy grinned at me. “I thought I saw some recognition on your boyfriend’s face, but even he let you leave with me. I’m sure he won’t remember anything.”

“God. I am so embarrassed,” I moaned as I set the coffee down and buried myself in the sheets.

“Don’t be. It happens to all of us,” Andy stated. I could hear the grin in his voice, and when I peeked over the sheets, I found that he was indeed grinning back at me. He winked when he saw me staring back at him. He couldn’t look any more smug if he tried.

“You must think I’m a terrible person, huh?” My voice sounded small.

“Of course not, sweetheart," Andy disagreed. He crossed his arms over his chest. "However, I must admit that I’m a little put out that you were with your boyfriend again.”

“He’s not my boyfriend! And besides, at least he doesn’t run out on me when I’m sleeping!” I angrily accused. I immediately regretted it when my head started throbbing even harder, my cheeks flaming as I let my irritation get the best of me. 

“You’re absolutely right,” Andy agreed. He stood up. “How about you take a shower, that way you feel a little better, and then we can discuss that? I owe you an explanation.”

I peeked out from under the covers again, watching him carefully. He nodded down at me.

“Really. We have to talk, you and I. But only when you feel better, okay?” Andy walked out of the room, and returned again, just as quickly. In his hands, he carried a towel and some clothing.

“It’s all I have, and I know they’ll be a bit big on you, but at least you’ll feel a little better. That dress looks great on you, but I imagine it’s rather uncomfortable at the moment.” Andy grinned again as he laid the clothes down on the end of the bed. “I’ll leave you to it, then. The shower is just over there.” He nodded his head to the far corner, where I now noticed there was another door. “I’ll be out in the kitchen when you’re done.”

With that, he left me alone again.

My head was spinning, and not just from the hangover. Andy did things to me, things that I couldn’t explain. Here I was, in his apartment, about to shower, and put his clothes on. I was still pissed at him. I was also thankful that he'd come to basically save me from God knows what at that bar. _How could I have been so stupid?_  I never did shit like that. I knew better, I knew what could happen to women in that situation. I felt like I'd been drugged, to be honest. Or I had way too much to drink. Or both.  Still...

I was in Andy's apartment, about to take a shower, and put his clothes on. Then I was probably gonna go out to the kitchen and talk to him. Or let him talk to me. What could he possibly need to talk about, that we hadn't already kinda figured out?  What could he tell me that would make me think -- My heart jumped in my throat as a new thought crossed my mind: _he was married_. Or he had a girlfriend. And he wanted to tell me, and that was why he'd never tried to sleep with me. That was why he kept leaving me alone. It had to be. I immediately drew that conclusion, because really, what else could there be? 

"This motherfucker," I growled as I rolled outta bed and angrily marched to the shower.  I left Andy's clothes on the end of the bed, taking only the towel. 

I was going to get a shower, put my same dress back on, and get the hell out of here. I had no time for Andy's excuses. 


	12. Chapter 12

  

 

Once I was through with the shower, I hastily dressed back in my old clothes. I pulled my bra back on, but couldn’t stand the thought of putting on old panties, so I threw them away in Andy’s trash can. I wrapped them up in toilet paper, and prayed he never noticed.  I used what I assumed was an extra toothbrush, and did the best I could with everything else. I wound my hair up into a tight bun, and grabbed the rest of my things before making my way out into the kitchen. Andy was there, sitting at the bar as he ate a bowl of something. He set his bowl down as I came into the room, his eyebrows rising as he took in my appearance.

“I’m guessing my clothes were much too big?”

“You guess wrong. I don’t want your clothes, I need to leave.” My chin lifted stubbornly, daring him to try to stop me. I held my shoes in one hand, my other arm full of everything else.  I'm sure I looked like a hot mess. 

“Did I miss something?” Andy gave me a bemused expression.

 _“Did I?”_ I challenged back, shifting on my bare feet.

“Maybe you should have a bite to eat,” Andy grabbed another bowl and pushed it towards me. “It’s only oatmeal, but it might settle your stomach.”

“Are you married?” I blurted out, unable to control myself.  

I got annoyed when Andy started grinning. And then I felt super childish, super insecure, and super ridiculous when he burst out laughing. Furious at him - and at myself - I marched towards his door, not even bothering to put my shoes on. I struggled to unlock it, cursing under my breath as my shaky fingers tried to pull the chain off. It was then that Andy came up behind me, slid the chain back in place, and turned me around so that he could pull me into his arms. He held me against his chest, rubbing my back.

“Why is everything so difficult with us?” Andy murmured against my forehead.

“Why do you drive me insane?” I muttered back.

“What if I said you make me just as crazy?” Andy hugged me a little tighter before releasing me. “Please come sit down with me. Let’s talk, okay?”

“Fine.” I moved away from him and marched back into the living room. I plopped down on the couch, my arms crossed angrily over my chest as I mulishly stared at the wall in front of me. Andy followed, and sat down next to me.

“Look, Casey, I know what you must think, and I can assure you—“

“I think you’re a cheater, and you’re lying to me, and that’s why we haven’t had sex, and that’s why you constantly run out on me. That’s what I think!”

“Well, none of that is true,” Andy chuckled, shaking his head in disagreement.

“No?” I demanded angrily as I cut my eyes at him. “Then why the shadiness?”

“Casey. Love, let me explain, okay?” Andy reached over and pulled my hand from where it was tucked at my side. His warm fingers gently rubbed against mine, sending tiny jolts of electricity up and down my arms as goosebumps broke out. I wanted to resist him —I wanted to not want him. It was impossible. I could feel my body reacting to being this close to him, could feel the yearning deep inside me. I wanted Andy more than I’d ever wanted anyone else in my life.

Damn him.

I jerked my hand away from him, and scooted away from him, putting at least some distance between us. Andy gave me a wry grin, but didn’t reach for me. He scooted to his end of the couch, his fingers pulling at the hair on his jaw as he began talking.

“Okay, first I am not married. Never been.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Secondly, I was in a long-term relationship, one that I’ve just only recently gotten out of,” Andy admitted. He leaned forward, picking at some skin on his hands as he stared down towards the floor. “I won’t lie and say I’m not a little confused with what’s going on there. It all ended so abruptly, so fucking bad, and sometimes I don’t know what I want.”

I felt my stomach sink a little at his words. He clearly still had feelings for whoever this woman was.

“But, that doesn’t change what I feel for you,” —he turned his head to look at me —“what I want with you. Casey, I’m sure you’ve been in relationships before, and they’ve probably been messy, and you’re unsure with what you want to do, and what you should do. Haven’t you?”

I said nothing. I didn’t trust my voice to say anything logical. I wanted to cry. I wanted to yell at him. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to leave. I wanted to kiss him. I was so confused.

“So, she’s in London. She's in theater. I’m here. Been together for about 2 years now, I think? We’ve decided to take time apart, see what we want to do. She cheated on me, I kissed another woman. We’ve both fucked up on so many different occasions. It was and is a very unhealthy relationship —we both know that — and by all means, it should end, right?”

“Like, what do you want me to say?” My voice was sounded so tiny, even to my ears. I blinked rapidly as a pathetic tear tried to overflow and roll down my cheek, but I turned my head and brushed it away with the back of my hand before it had an opportunity to betray me. 

“I want you to say that you feel what I feel, and that even though we’ve only known each other for a few days, and we’ve only ever kissed, that you feel something for me.” Andy scooted closer to me, his hand reaching for mine again. “Casey, you have to believe me, that if I just wanted to get laid, I would have done it by now. But I can’t,”— he reached out, his fingers grasping my chin as he turned me to face him —“not with you.”

His blue eyes were so earnest, almost pleading with me. I blinked again, much more rapidly as the tears were threatening to overwhelm me.

“Do you feel anything for me?” Andy asked me, his lips taut with his own emotions. “Anything at all? Is it just sexual? Or is there more? Or am I just completely wrong about it all?”

“Andy…I…”—

Andy leaned over and kissed me, his mouth insistent as he pressed his lips against mine. I couldn't resist fisting my hands into the front of his tee-shirt, and before I knew it, he’d turned and lifted me, situating me so that I was in his lap, my legs straddling his thighs. His fingers gripped the top of my thighs as he held me to him, and I couldn’t control the moan as I felt his erection pressed against my naked sex.

“I fucking want you so bad,” Andy husked as he pressed kisses against my throat, against my collarbone, and everywhere my dress didn’t cover.

I pulled his head back up, tangling my fingers in the curls at the nape of his neck, holding him to me as I sought out his lips again. I needed to taste him, needed him to taste me. His tongue found its way into my mouth, the silkiness probing as our hands roamed over each other’s body. I could taste a faint hint of orange juice, the tangy sweetness competing with the smell of Andy's cologne and own unique smell. We squirmed against each other, and when Andy’s fingers ghosted over my ass, I felt him still as he pulled back to stare up at me.

“No knickers?” Andy stared up at me, his blue eyes now dark and stormy. I bit my lip, my cheeks flaming as embarrassment washed over me.

“I didn’t want to put them back on,” I worried my lower lip, waiting for his reaction as I stared down at him.  

I would swear his face darkened, as something predatory came over him. The intensity in his gaze was overwhelming, the dark lust clearly showing in his turbulent eyes had me trembling against him. His eyes still on mine, Andy slid his fingers along the edge of my ass cheeks, tantalizing me as he moved closer and close to my wetness, and I couldn't help but roll my hips against him again in need. 

“Good girl,” Andy murmured as he pulled me down to kiss him again. I melted a little more at the tone of his voice, so commanding, so in-charge, a low rumble against my chest. 

His fingers splayed on my ass, one large, warm hand on each cheek as he rolled me against his erection. I could feel the wetness seeping into the fabric of his sweatpants, could feel the way my body was responding to the pressure of his cock pressed against me as he pushed and pulled me the way he wanted.

“Andy…please…” I whined as I strove to get closer to him. My fingers dug into his shoulders, my eyes closed as the friction between us got stronger and stronger.

“Protection?” Andy grunted again as he pulled the strap of my dress down, revealing my bra-clad breast. Before I could respond, Andy had pulled the cup down, releasing the rosy tip of my aching breast into the waiting warmth of his mouth. I couldn’t concentrate on his question, could only feel him as he touched me.  His beard scraped against me, the rough whiskers chafing my skin as he kissed and licked all around my chest. 

“God!” I moaned as I held him to me, wincing at the slight pain from his lips and teeth against my already sensitive nipple. He licked me, rolling his tongue around one pert nipple, before reaching over and pulling the other cup down, releasing both breasts. One hand palmed me, the rough skin of his hand kneading and tugging, as his tongue laved my swollen nipple into an even-harder peak. I couldn’t help, couldn’t stop myself as I reached down and pushed at his pants, doing my best to free his cock. I needed him in me. Andy’s hands grabbed mine, stilling me before I could go any further.

“Casey, love, what about protection?” Andy stared up at me, a pained look on his face as he tried to be the more mature of the two.

“I don’t have anything,” I bit my lip again, nearly whining as I shifted my bottom on his lap.

Andy closed his eyes, his head dropping back against the couch as reality hit him. Hit us. We sat there for just a moment, panting breaths and longing,  before Andy opened his eyes and stared back up at me. I was sat there, my dress pulled down against my waist, my sex wet against his hard cock, and he just stared at me. His eyes roamed over my breasts, down to the wetness that I had caused on his grey sweatpants. With a resigned sigh, Andy reached forward and trailed his fingers down the center of my chest, drawing circles in between my breasts. He used the tip of one rough finger to trace a delicate pattern around my breast, pinching the taut peak slightly,  before leaning up to take my nipple back into his warm mouth. I couldn’t control the moan that escaped, my hands fisting in his hair as I held his mouth to me.

“Please just fuck me, Andy. Please,” I whimpered, begging him for what I needed. “Please.”

I knew what I was asking. I also knew that I didn’t care about consequences anymore. All that mattered was this man, was the feel of his hands on my body, the feeling of him touching me, and of me touching him. Tomorrow didn't matter, repercussion and consequences I could care less about. I huffed, struggling to push at his pants again. Andy reached down and helped, and before I knew it, he was lining up his cock at my entrance. I sank down on him, both of us sighing in relief - me at being filled so fully, and him at being embraced in so deeply in the warmth of my wetness. Andy helped me pull off my dress and bra, and I helped him remove his shirt, revealing his broad chest. I raked my fingers across his chest, feeling the beginning of the chest hair as it grew back, delighting in the hisses I drew from him as I circled his pebbled nipples with my fingernails.  

"Save that for later," Andy growled as he draped my arms around his shoulders.  He wrapped me around him, forcing me to take him in as deep as I could.  He set a furious pace, thrusting up into me so hard that we both lifted up off the couch. 

My breasts were flattened against his chest as I rode him, his strong thighs helping me bounce up and down at a furious pace as we each sought our relief. Andy’s arms circled around me, his mouth at my breast as he angled me in such a way as to get the longest stroke. It seemed to be a matter of seconds before he’d taken me to the top and pushed me over the edge. I could feel the tension, could feel the tightly wound coil of release beginning to spiral as I came undone on top of him.

“Oh God! Andy!” I moaned as I could feel my inner walls tightening around him. I could feel the warmth spreading from my belly, could feel the room getting smaller as my world —my very existence - became focused on the feeling of this man thrusting up into me, over and over again. The force of his cock, thrusting in and out, over and over, driving me to the top and pushing me completely over the edge one last time.

“I’m gonna… ** _Andy!_** ” I screamed out his name as my world shattered around me, the orgasm tearing through me before I could catch my breath. I shuddered around him, gripping his shoulders tightly as I rode out the waves of pleasure as he continued pounding into me. I had gone limp in his arms, completely exhausted as I collapsed on him, allowing him to use me how he saw fit. I thought I heard Andy curse, and then I could feel him spurting deep inside me, his body shuddering against me as he came.

“Oh fuck,” he grunted out, “oh fuck, I’m so…sorry! Fuck!” Andy whispered as his body continued jerking against me, the aftereffects of his own powerful climax still causing him to tremble in my arms. I subconsciously tightened around him, my body still very sensitive, and Andy grunted again as he thrust one more time up into me. With one last powerful shudder, Andy dropped his head against my breast, holding me tightly in his arms. My fingers traveled from his shoulders, back up to the nape of his neck.

“I always wondered about that,” I whispered into the quiet.

“What?” Andy whispered back tiredly. 

“If you really do sweat that much,” I giggled as I ran my fingers through his sweaty curls. “I guess you do.” I leaned back to stare down at him, my grin fading into a soft smile as I saw the look on his face. He looked so sweet, so gentle, and so gorgeous as he gave me a tired smile. I couldn’t resist kissing him again.  He was beyond adorable. 

"Ricky Dicky is a sweaty beast," Andy chuckled.  

"I like it."  

"I like you," Andy nipped at my neck with his lips.  "A lot."  

"I like you too," I agreed as I wrapped my arms about his shoulders. I liked him too much.   "What do we do now?" 

"I could use a nap." Andy nuzzled my neck, wrapping his arms around me again.  "I could sleep right here, honestly. As long as you're wrapped around me, I am rather content."  

"Welp, sorry to burst your bubble, but I have to go get cleaned up." I kissed him on his forehead. "Meet me in the bedroom?"  I started crawling off him, my legs wobbly as I slowly stood.  I clutched my dress to the front of my body, suddenly very self-conscious as I stood naked before him. He was such a gorgeous man, ten-thousand times more good-looking than I could ever even pretend to be.  Andy stood up, completely uncaring about being naked in front of me it seemed.  I turned around to head to the bathroom, but Andy grabbed me, and spun me back around, pulling me back up against him.  

"Thank you."  He blinked down at me, suddenly seeming very solemn and vulnerable. 

"For what?" I asked him, trying to downplay my building nervousness.  We were stood there, naked in his living room,  the only thing separating us my bundle of clothes that I held to my chest. I could feel my heart beating in my chest, hammering furiously as I waited for his answer.  

"For this," he kissed me again.  "For being you."  

I felt a lump in my throat, some weird, unnamed emotion, and I quickly pushed it away lest it took hold. _Too early for this shit,_ I chided myself.  I playfully smacked his chest, trying to lighten the now too-serious mood. 

"Don't get all mushy on me, Lincoln. Go get cleaned up, meet me in the bedroom." 

"Yes, ma'am," Andy replied, smacking my ass for emphasis as I walked away from him.  

I headed back into the bathroom, this time much different than before.  I closed the door and stood up against it, my heart still pounding in my chest as the reality of what we'd just done hit me...


	13. Chapter 13

  
Andy was already in bed, laying flat on his back when I quietly entered the room. It was nearing noon, but it was darker in the room due to the curtains being drawn, and the gloominess outside. It tended to rain a lot in Georgia, and being that it was fall, the cold front was moving in rather quickly, making everything dark.  I shivered underneath my teeshirt, goosebumps breaking out again.

“Come get in bed,” Andy sleepily patted the spot next to him. I timidly made my way over and crawled in, allowing him to pull me into his warm embrace. He kissed the back of my head, and nuzzled his nose at the against my neck, and for  just a moment, all was right in the world. 

It wouldn't last. 

“You alright?” he asked, his voice heavy with tiredness.

“I’m fine,” I replied. I wasn’t, but what was I supposed to say? I just had unprotected sex with a very famous actor, and what if the worst happened? I’d lose everything I’d ever worked for, and he would go on about his life, being famous and rich and shit. _What’s to worry_ _about, right?_   My time in the bathroom had given me way too much to think about, to overanalyze the way I did everything.   **EVERY. DAMN. THING.**

“You’re not. I can hear it in your voice, sweetheart.” Andy pulled me, turning me so that I was laying flat on my back. He stared down at me, brows drawn together in concern. “Are you sorry about this? About us?”

I vigorously shook my head in denial.

“Then?” He persisted. 

I looked up at him for just a moment and then promptly broke down into tears. With a sigh, Andy wrapped me up in his arms, holding me close as I cried. He whispered soothing words of encouragement, his strong hands lightly rubbing up and down my back.

“You’re worried that we had sex without protection, aren’t you?” Andy surmised as my crying abated, dissolving into pitiful sniffles and hiccups. I nodded against his chest, my breath hitching again.

“Why don’t we worry about that when something happens?” Andy asked, his voice soft. “I can’t lie and say I’m not a little worried myself, but I don’t see the sense in worrying about it now. Not when we have this time together.”

 _Why don’t we worry about that when something happens_ , he said. I could feel the anger rising within me at his carefree tone. Of course he had nothing to worry about, should something happen. Angry, annoyed, irritated -- I shoved at him, removing myself from his embrace and rolling over to my  side of the bed. Andy leaned back, watching me warily.

“I’ve done it again, haven’t I?” He ran a hand over his face, tugging at the stubble on his jaw.

“I don’t know, ya think?” I retorted angrily. “I just think it’s so great that you can be so easy-going about it. I mean, of course, right? What else would you do.  You like to sneak out in the middle of the night, so who’s to say you wouldn’t sneak out on someone you knocked up?”

At that, Andy sat up, clearly taken aback at my comments. I could see that I’d angered him, his blue eyes narrowed, glittering at my accusation, his lips contorting into a scowl. “Do you really think that I would do something like that?”

His voice gave me pause; I’d really pissed him off, and in another world, I might have been more cautious. However, he’d really pissed me off by leaving me the other day, and payback was a bitch. With a scowl of my own, I crawled off the bed, ripping off his shirt and throwing it at him as I made my way back into the bathroom. I hastily changed back into my clothes from the night before, and scooped up all my belongings. I was spitting mad, my cheeks flushed as I shoved my hair up into a messy bun. Once done, I jerked the door open and marched out. Andy was standing now, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against a bare wall facing the bathroom door. His mouth was set in a taut line, clearly still mad at me. I didn’t care — _because I was mad at him, too!!_  — and continued marching through his apartment to the front door.

“It doesn’t have to be like this.” His voice stopped me, right before I had pulled open the door, and like an idiot, I stopped.

“No, I think it will always be like this with you,” I muttered sadly. My head dropped to my chest, shoulders slumped in defeat. I knew that something between Andy and I could never work. It should have never started in the first place. I felt him come up behind me, but he didn’t touch me. I slowly turned around, only glancing up at his face for just a moment before looking away. I needed to escape this apartment, to get away from him as fast as I could.

“Casey. I’m sorry about running out on you, I am.” Andy’s voice was gruff, strained even, and for some reason, it made my chest hurt a little more. “I wasn’t thinking, and now, after last night and today, I am more sure than ever that I made a terrible mistake that day. I’m sorry. I am.”

“I think I need to go.” My voice was also strained, my throat hurting with the effort it took to hold down the damn lump that was choking me. Andy reached for me, but I moved just far enough for his hand to grasp at thin air. He lowered his hand, taking a deep breath as he stepped back.

“So that’s it, then? Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a bit?” HIs voice had turned bitter with sarcasm.  

"Maybe," I shrugged.  "I'll call you if I'm pregnant." 

Andy snorted angrily, reaching for me again as I grabbed the door knob and turned it. Again, I shrugged him off.  He slammed a hand against the door, closing it as I opened it.  

"So now you're gonna keep me hostage here?" I hissed up at him as I turned around to face him.  

"We need to talk." Andy growled down at me as he dropped his hand and stepped back. 

"No, we don't." 

"Why are you so stubborn?" He was exasperated, running his hand through hair in agitation, causing it to react wildly and shoot out in all directions. For some reason, I thought this was funny, and couldn't control the hysterical giggle that escaped.  Andy's scowl only deepened, his arms once again crossed over his chest. After a few moments, I managed to get myself under control.  

"Are you done?" Andy pointedly asked.  He was clearly not in the mood for humor, be it dark or not. 

"With you, yes," I nodded.  "Now, let me go." 

"Casey. Look," Andy steepled his hands in front of him, pleading with me.  "I'm leaving in less than a week, we have to talk this out now."  

"You're leaving?" I chuckled again.  "Why am I not surprised?  Going back to your girlfriend in London?" 

Andy tilted his head, his jaw ticking in annoyance as he lowered his hands back to his sides.  

"Like I said, I'll call you if I'm pregnant."  

"You are ridiculous," Andy bluntly stated.  

"No, Andy, I'm being realistic."  I lifted my chin as I spoke.  "We should have never gotten involved, and we certainly shouldn't have done what we did today." 

"So you do regret it, then?"  

"Yes, I do."  It hurt me to see the hurt reflected in Andy's face at my admission.  Still, I pressed on.  "Which is why we need to end this now, and be done with it." 

"Just like that?"  

"Yes," I nodded.  "Just like that." 

"So, I let you leave, and never hear from you again, is that how it's going to be?"  

"Like I said, I'll message you if I'm pregnant."  I shifted on my feet.

"You won't," Andy shook his head.  "When you leave here, I won't ever see you again." It was a statement of fact, one that we both knew was true.  Andy was leaving back to London; I was leaving back to Louisiana.  Our paths wouldn't cross in the future, there would be no need. I stood there, mute and unwavering in my conviction that we needed to end this, and end it now.  Our eyes met, his bright blue and furious, mine tawny and resolved.  For a few moments, I had no idea what Andy might do, but then he reached around me and turned the knob on the door, pulling it open and forcing me to move aside. 

"Go ahead," he nodded out towards the hallway.  "I won't keep you any longer."  He stood there, holding the door open until I scooted under his arm and made my way out into the hallway. 

Before I could say another word, or look at him, he'd closed the door on me. The silence was deafening.  I stood there, alone in the hallway, before his apartment door, my chin trembling as the ugly tears threatened to fall.  Knowing I was probably about to lose it — _and maybe beat on his door to let me back in_  — I quickly made my way down the hall, jamming my finger into the _"down_ " button of the elevator.  

Mercifully the doors opened, giving me the escape I desired.  

 


End file.
